Thomas Danforth

Thomas Danforth (20 November 1623-5 November 1699) was the Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1679 to 1686, succeeding Simon Bradstreet and preceding William Stoughton, and from 1689 to 1692, succeeding Francis Nicholson and preceding Stoughton. He is best known for his role in the Salem Witch Trials as the head prosecutor, alongside Judge John Hathorne.

Biography
Thomas Danforth was born on 20 November 1623 in Framlingham, Suffolk, in eastern England. A Puritan, he left for New England in 1634 with his family to avoid persecution from the Anglician Church that ruled England. In 1679 he was elected Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony after working as a treasurer at Harvard College, and he supported the "Praying Indians" (Indians who peacefully converted to Christianity) during King Philip's War in 1675.

In 1692 Danforth was called upon by the government of the town of Salem to deal with the accusations of witchcraft by some of the population. Danforth was fickle in the proceedings, originally stating that he would accept a deposition from Mary Warren but later refusing to take one from John Proctor. Soon, it became known that the trials were coming to nothing, as there was a rebellion in nearby Andover against the trials, and Reverend John Hale tried to convince Christians to belie themselves and claim that they were witches so that they would not be hung (instead, they would lose their land). Danforth was later superceded by William Phips, the governor of the colony, after Phips' wife was accused of witchcraft. He died in November 1699.